The Role of Territorial Attachment in the Process of Forming Local Communities in Moscow

This study investigates the degree to which the process of forming the local communities is determined by the feeling of place attachment. The research is aimed to answer the main question: which role does place attachment play in the process of forming the local communities? Discovering the role of place attachment on the example of local communities in Moscow districts, it is illuminated that attachment to the territory has three main functions. It could mobilize people, integrate them and foster new values, which affect the proactive human behavior. Place attachment is the concept, which could be defined by the mean of place identity, place dependence and the sense of place. Such features as childhood reminiscences, social bonds, historical and cultural background of the place cause to the development of place attachment. Furthermore, research has a strong contribution to the Russian sociology of social movements, as it provides the empirical data of 15 interviews with most initiatives members of local communities in Moscow. The main value of the research is that it proves the fact that there are local communities in Moscow, which are aimed not only to deal with urgent city problems and conflicts based on unfair decisions of the city authority, but also to develop strong ties between neighbors and improve the territory which they are attached to. Overall, the research provides the understanding of the civic engagement nature, describes the general means of territorial attachment expression and structure of the mobilization mechanism.